Monday, October 27, 2008

Blue Ink

I heard about a man who robbed a bank and drove off. He thought he was in the clear until he opened the bag and it exploded with permanent blue ink. He was blue from head to toe. Day after day he scrubbed himself trying to get free from the ink but it was futile. He lived with all this money yet could not leave his home for fear the ink would be seen and he would be arrested. The ink served as a constant reminder of who he was and what he had done.....a constant reminder that he was a guilty man. He was completely isolated from the world because of the ink and almost went insane. Finally the day came when he could no longer take it anymore and he decided to turn himself in. At least in prison he could be free from the guilt of what he had done. John 8:32, ".....and the truth will set you free."

Monday, October 20, 2008

A Peculiar Patience

In the grocery store, her two year old begged for cookies. Mom said no and the little girl began to cry. “Now Sarah, we’re halfway done, it won’t be much longer.” Of course the same thing happened in the candy aisle. “There, there Sarah, only two more aisles then we’re done.” When checking out, she reached for the gum. When mom said no again, she screamed louder than ever. The mother patiently said, “Sarah, we’re leaving now. We’ll go home and have a nice nap.” A man who witnessed these events in the store, complimented the woman on her way to her car by saying, “I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Sarah.” She replied, “Thank you, but my little girl is Samantha, I’m Sarah!” Too often, we’re like this two year old when we don’t get our way. We beg and cry and carry on. In 2 Peter 3:9 we see how patient God is with us. Can we also be this patient both with Him and with others?

Monday, October 13, 2008

True Change

A barber’s supply company held a large convention. In the morning, they showed the crowd a man they picked up off the street. That same afternoon, they showed the same man after he had been shaved and groomed with their products. They exclaimed, “This is what our products can do for you!” Everyone was impressed to see the completely changed man. The next day, they wanted to repeat this process to new clients and sought this man out again. Guess where they found him? Lying in a gutter, all filthy and drunk again. They had changed him on the outside, but had anything really changed? What about us? Over the past year, has anything really changed? Fact is: True Change only happens when a True Commitment to Christ is made. Today, are you content with the status-quo or do you truly desire to be changed?

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Blame Game

The game had not been going well and the manager of the baseball team was so disgusted by his shortstop’s performance that he yanked him out of the game and assumed the position himself. The first ball that came to shortstop took a bad hop and hit him right in the mouth. The next one was a fly ball which he lost in the glare of the sun, until it bounced off his forehead. The third hit was a hard line drive that went right past his glove and between his legs. Now furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the shortstop by his uniform and shouted, “You’ve got shortstop so messed up that even I can’t do anything with it!” As we read passages like Ezekiel 18:1-4, the truth is that we’re each responsible for our own actions and behavior. And even though it’s one of our favorite things to do, starting today, may we be aware of and quit playing the blame game!